Tag Archives: Secom

Secom’s ongoing and diligent work at the cutting edge of CCTV-based security has won a global accolade for the nationwide company. Use of the internationally acclaimed Milestone VMS for systems serving some of its leading UK customers has resulted in Secom being named as Milestone’s 2018 Northern Europe Partner of the Year.

The award was announced at the recent Milestone Integration Platform Symposium, an event that brings together partners from the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions who collaborate, network and learn about global trends in the VMS space.

Secom’s commercial, sales and marketing director Alan Blake enthused: “We were delighted to hear that we had been nominated for an award and even more so to be named as the winner. This award is evidence of the sterling work that Secom has delivered in leveraging innovative, industry-leading solutions on the Milestone platform. We look forward to engineering more solutions in this way during 2019.”

Milestone’s open platform provides VMS options for applications ranging from single retail stores through to multi-site and city-wide monitoring systems.

Blake continued: “On this platform we’re able to offer our customers the ability to monitor several cameras simultaneously. This provides enhanced security as well as the opportunity to make management decisions – such as the need to open additional till points – based on real-time observations of in-store conditions.”

In addition, Blake stated: “Coupled with our track record in addressing retail crime through the analysis of intelligence gathered from CCTV, Secom can now offer an advanced security process with the potential to slash retailers’ losses to crime and enable the police to successfully prosecute repeat offenders.”

Working to a tight ten-week schedule, four teams of Secom engineers recently completed a significant electronic security upgrade at no less than 150 critical sites resident within the UK’s energy infrastructure network.

The project – covering offices as well as remote locations with no staff – involved replacing key legacy equipment and software to create a superior platform for the remote monitoring of CCTV surveillance systems. It brought the 150 sites up to the same high standards of security as the customer’s other 250-plus sites across the UK.

Phil Lamb, Secom’s general manager for regional sales, feels that installation of new transmission units has allowed a switch for all of the customer’s sites to a more robust and cutting-edge video control platform in the Alarm Receiving Centre.

“Security is of course a major consideration for infrastructure service providers, but can prove to be challenging because of the many remote locations needed to ensure uninterrupted delivery to consumers nationwide. Reliable CCTV and alarm systems are important tools in dealing with issues that might affect the continuity of supply or any other risks of compromising security or Health and Safety concerns if, for example, there’s an unauthorised entry.”

Lamb said the customer was facing a critical need as its existing transmission units had become obsolete. With the existing video management software there was a growing risk of losing connectivity with remote sites – and also, therefore, visibility of site issues.

“The decision to replace obsolete hardware and software was initiated to mitigate the risk of major security incidents by creating a more stable platform. Our role was to replace the end-of-life kit with the latest generation transmission units. As the incumbent service provider, we have intimate knowledge of each site and could evade potential issues, using our engineering skills to design issues out of the tight schedule by dint of using detailed process maps.”

The software platform was upgraded to meet customer expectations. Due to the nature of the replacement project, Secom hand-picked engineers for the four teams and also provided dedicated project managers.